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NORMAN, Okla. Volodymyr Dubovyk, a professor at Odesa National University in Ukraine, talked about the Ukrainian situation on Wednesday at the University of Oklahoma.

Almost three years after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation on March 18, 2014, Dubovyk said the situation in Ukraine is disastrous, and the war is still ongoing in the Donbass.

Dubovyk said Ukraine still depends on financial help from the U.S. and the European Union. However, improvement has been made to reform the Ukrainian government and reduce corruption even if it is going slower than expected.

We need to continue to push the government to do the right thing, Dubovyk said, adding pressure from the Ukrainians and also the European Union (EU) doesnt give a lot of choices to the Ukrainian government. Dubovyk added the EU also provides assistance in helping to reform the country, even if he believes the EU doesnt seem to be interested in integrating Ukraine into the EU.

Contrary to the Orange Revolution that didnt provide the expected results with the election of Viktor Yushchenko, Dubovyk believes this time Ukrainians are much more engaged in the political life of the country. He noted also that since the movement of 2014, more than 10,000 have been killed especially with the Russian invasion, motivating even more Ukrainians to not let this revolution be another failure.

Besides financial help from the EU, Dubovyk said it is possible for Ukraine to become part of the visa-free regime with the EU in the next six months.

Then, speaking of NATO, Dubovyk believes the integration of Ukraine into the transatlantic organization is not for tomorrow, especially as the conflict with Russia is still ongoing. But since the conflict with Russia, the Ukrainians are more tempted to join NATO.

A large amount of people are convinced that indeed Ukraine needs to be part of a bigger military alliance such as NATO, Dubovyk said, noting the role of the U.S. in Ukraine since the Russian invasion has been limited, trying to not provoke a proxy war with Russia.

However, since President Trumps election, Dubovyk said the U.S. position toward Ukraine is not clear adding, We are hoping it will evolve in the right direction.

Further, Dubovyk said even if the Russian propaganda is well present in Ukraine through Russian media, Ukrainian Russian speakers are more aware of the real situation and less inclined to listen to Russian TVs than Russian people.

People are starting to make their own opinions, Dubovyk said.

Dubovyk was invited by the University of Oklahoma European Union Center.

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Conflict in Ukraine still ongoing, specialist says - Red Dirt Report